Danskin has been around since 1882, a long time! It all started as a dry goods business in New York City. Two men, Joel and Benson Goodman, found their place in the dance world by importing hosiery from Europe and selling it to the local dancers. The Goodman brothers then started making the hosier themselves and selling it to dancers. This led to them dominating the industry with Danskin Apparel since there was no competition in the beginning. They were the first to bring the tights, stockings, and leotards to the American dance society. All the way from the early 19th century to the early 20th century, Danskin practically owned the market in the US. However in the 1950’s, Danskin made its name big all over and had a trademark. The name was quite clever too. Dan and skin, if you think about it, closely sound like dance and skin. I bet the Goodman brothers knew what they were doing when they picked this name.
In the early 1950s, Danskin was the first company to offer the nylon to the public to be worn as hosiery. By 1952, the company offered the first tights that went from waist to toe. These tights were made of the first ever stretch nylon. The brothers had a goldmine on their hands. Soon, the name was known everywhere for the dance world. Next, the skaters and gymnasts soon followed into the Danskin Apparel. With the Danskin Company having so much of the market already, there was soon much more to come. All they needed was the right man for the job.
By the late 1950s the Danskin name had gone into the mainstream and was there to stay. There most profitable item was the waist to toe tights they had developed. The two brothers were looking for more ways to expand the name. During the 1960s and 1970s, a grandson of the original Goodman’s named Peter Goodman, kept the company going. He got the company involved in the fitness, disco, and swimming markets and turned the company into even more of a success. The tights were in fashion and everyone wanted them. Now they had the dance, fitness, disco, and swimming industries. Part of his marketing plan was to support everything he could include the Olympics in hopes of growing the company even more. The children then started to wear Danskin as well as the adults in the workout rooms. The Olympics was the key to the next step in business. This led to the department stores in America starting to carry the Danskin Apparel. Peter had done his job. He took his grandparents company to the level they wanted to. The company was now the “Wal-Mart” of the dance and fitness world.